The two men carrying out the tenth
expedition to the International Space Station (ISS) have officially taken control of the
orbiting facility.

ISS Expedition
10 commander Leroy
Chiao and flight engineer Salizhan Sharipov are settling in to what
will be the first long spaceflight for both the veteran space flyers careers, six
months. The pair took control of the station from its previous crew, Expedition
9's Gennady Padalka and Michael Fincke, who departed
on Oct. 23.

"We'll do
our best to leave [the ISS] in better condition than you've given it to us," Chiao
told the Expedition 9 crew and visiting Russian Space Forces cosmonaut Yuri
Shargin during a change of command ceremony.

Both Chiao
and Sharipov have looked forward to their spaceflight and the unique
experiences the mission offers.

A few firsts

While
neither of the Expedition 10 crewmembers are space rookies -- both have flown
aboard NASA space shuttles, three times for Chiao -- the mission marks the first
time either spacefarer has spent an extended stretch in Earth orbit or flown in
Russia's
Soyuz spacecraft.

"A
long-duration spaceflight is more like a marathon," Chiao said before launching
up toward the ISS on Oct. 13. "Rather than the sprint of two weeks during a
shuttle flight, trying to get everything done."

During
their stay aboard the ISS, Chiao and Sharipov will conduct two spacewalks in
Russian-built Orlan spacewalks, reposition their Soyuz TMA-5 spacecraft to the
station's Zarya control module and perform ISS maintenance and science
research. They are expected to be the
last two-person crew to the station since NASA's space shuttle fleet is anticipated
to return to flight during Expedition 11, which would allow the ISS to return
to its typical three-person crews.

"I want to
work very hard in this mission," Sharipov told SPACE.com before launch, adding that he has served as a back-up
crewmember five times, three times for Mir mission and twice for the ISS.

Sharipov
began his work even before reaching the ISS, manually docking
the Soyuz spacecraft carrying Expedition 10 to the station when the capsule's
automated system malfunctioned.

The moon and space cooking

Chiao said
spaceflight has been in his heart since his childhood, when at age 8 he watched
Apollo astronauts reach the moon.

"I love
flying, even when we go on vacation," said Chiao, who owns his own airplane.
Married over a year to his wife Karen, Chiao said his wedding ring is among the
treasured items he took with him to the ISS.

Sharipov,
meanwhile, takes comfort in the photographs of friends and family he packed
into the 3 pounds (1.5 kilograms) of personal cargo allowed with him into
space. His chief concern, he said, is the preservation of his culinary skills.

"Hopefully,
I won't forget how to cook in the six months I'll be onboard the space
station," Sharipov said. "I like to eat and cook and share my passions with my
friends."

The visitor

The Expedition
10 crew did not arrive at the space station unaccompanied. Visiting ISS
cosmonaut Shargin also made the two-day spaceflight, spending eight days aboard
the station performing science experiments.

Qualifying
as a test cosmonaut in 1998, Shargin hails from Englestown, Saratov
in Russia
and serves as a lieutenant colonel in the Russian Air Force. He made his first
flight into space with the Expedition 10 crew.

During his
brief week aboard the ISS, Shargin told reporters his schedule was so filled
with scientific research that he would most likely really look back at his
experience after landing.

"I think
this will be very beneficial for our scientific understanding and for humanity
overall," Shargin said of his mission.